When it comes to email marketing, engaging content is king. Quality content is what keeps your subscribers subscribed. The real trick to retaining your customers is making your content engaging. It has to get them thinking and wanting to learn more. There should always be a call-to-action. It is up to you to understand and provide content which will keep your subscribers coming back for more.

Understanding your subscribers is going to be the key when it comes to writing engaging content that is relevant to your newsletter’s audience.

Be Authentic

Chances are you never thought you were going to have to write something for an email newsletter and are not sure how to be prepared for such an undertaking. Keep in mind that your subscribers sincerely care about authenticity . They want to hear from you and what is going on with your business. Now, that doesn’t mean they want to know your financials. They want to know what is new and coming out soon from you. They want a story that makes them feel good or motivates them to take action. They want an engaging experience that compels them to take action. So do you!

Tell a Story

Since you’re in business or have some really good reason for sending email newsletters, you probably have experiences that your subscribers can relate to. Note that engaging content is only engaging if your reader can relate to it. Share an experience with your subscribers that they can appreciate. For example, let them know how you volunteered to help a local charity or attended a tradeshow and learned about new trends that need to be addressed. Share a story that will start a dialogue with your subscribers.

Get Social

Social media is a hot topic today. The fact is, it is only going to get hotter. It’s up to you to keep up with it because if you don’t, you run the risk of shuttering the doors on your business. Email is a social medium. You can start a dialogue with your customers simply by engaging with them. A few iContact customers have run promotions to get their customers involved, and have even used the “Forward to a Friend” tool to award a prize to the subscriber that forwarded their message to the most friends.

Engage with Consistency

Having a regular feature helps keep consistency with your subscribers. In the spirit of engaging messages, some customers have developed a “Customer of the Month” program. Get a picture of the winning customers and put text on the picture rather than in a caption below it. This way they have to view the images in your newsletter in order to see if they won. This kind of program can drive up your open rates.

Now is the time to look at how you engage your subscribers. Ask yourself if you are doing enough. When you think about this, keep in mind that the experience your subscribers have will influence future conversions. Ask if the content is authentic and compelling. Does the special promotion get your subscriber to perform a desired action? Apply an engagement strategy that both you and your subscribers will benefit from. Remember – engaging content is king.